Nanomedicine and bio-nanotechnology

 

Nanomedical Science and Technology Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program

This interdisciplinary research and education program, funded by a $3.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), involves faculty and students from the College of Arts and Sciences, Bouve College of Health Sciences and College of Engineering. It emphasizes interdisciplinary research training in diverse areas including nanostructured materials, nanomagnetism, cell biology and trafficking, optical microscopy and imaging, sensors and diagnostic systems, drug and gene targeting and delivery, and synthesis and surface functionalization and characterization of nanostructures, and theoretical computational modeling.

• Interdisiciplinary courses in which students gain the skills to address scientific and engineering challenges, and the business, ethical and global perspectives to apply to the rapidly emerging area of nanomedical science and technology.
• Cutting-edge research with world-renowned scientists and educators in cellular biosensors, magnetic bio-control, drug delivery, mitochondrial gene therapy, bio-nano machines and nanomanufacturing.
• Graduate research internships available in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, and clinical research and goverment laboratories.

NCI, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, and the NSF have funded this program for U.S. science and engineering doctoral students to focus on interdisciplinary nanoscience and technology research with applications to cancer. Through this partnership, $12.8 million in grants have been awarded to Northeastern University and three other institutions over the next five years. The awards were granted through NSF's IGERT program, which is intended to facilitate greater diversity in student participation and preparation and contribute to the development of a diverse, globally-engaged science and engineering workforce.

The IGERT program, initiated in 1997 and now comprising approximately 150 projects nationwide, has been developed to meet the challenges of educating Ph.D. scientists, engineers, and educators in the U.S. with the interdisciplinary backgrounds, deep knowledge in chosen disciplines, and technical, professional, and personal skills to become, in their own careers, the leaders and creative agents for change. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education, for students, faculty, and institutions, by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. Projects funded through the IGERT program seek to increase the participation of underrepresented groups, including women and minorities, in doctorate programs in the engineering, science and mathematics fields, thereby tapping into a bountiful resource opportunity to advance cancer research.